A Long Time Comin' is the first album by American rock band the Electric Flag, released in 1968. The album has a mix of musical styles, including soul along with blues and rock, with a horn section.
It opens with an updated take on the Howlin' Wolf blues classic "Killing Floor" and includes an adaptation of Sticks McGhee's "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" titled "Wine". The album also contains "Groovin' Is Easy" and "Over-Lovin' You", which had been released as a single in 1967.
Critical reception
It is widely seen by music critics as an ambitious debut album. The album was somewhat of a failure in the charts, much to the disappointment of Bloomfield, who had worked hard on it. His disappointment was worsened by the success of the Al Kooper directed Super Session, which, featuring Bloomfield, charted much higher than A Long Time Comin' despite having been recorded over a period of only two days.
It was voted number 4 in the 50 All-Time Long Forgotten Gems from Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
Track listing The original LP record has 10 tracks, and a 1988 Columbia Records reissue on CD has four bonus tracks.
Side one "Killing Floor" (Chester Burnett a.k.a. Howlin' Wolf) – 4:11 "Groovin' Is Easy" (Ron Polte) – 3:06 "Over-Lovin' You" (Mike Bloomfield, Barry Goldberg) – 2:12 "She Should Have Just" (Ron Polte) – 5:03 "Wine" (Traditional arr. Bloomfield) – 3:15
Side two "Texas" (Bloomfield, Buddy Miles) – 4:49 "Sittin' in Circles" (Goldberg) – 3:54 "You Don't Realize" (Bloomfield) – 4:56 "Another Country" (Polte) – 8:47 "Easy Rider" (Bloomfield) – 0:53
CD bonus tracks "Sunny" (Bobby Hebb) – 4:02 "Mystery" (Miles) – 2:56 "Look into My Eyes" (Harvey Brooks, Miles) – 3:07 "Going Down Slow" (James Oden a.k.a. St. Louis Jimmy) – 4:43
Personnel Mike Bloomfield – lead guitar, vocals Buddy Miles – drums, vocals (3, 6, 8) Barry Goldberg – keyboards Harvey Brooks – bass Nick Gravenites – vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9), guitar Herb Rich – organ, vocals, baritone saxophone, guitar Michael Fonfara – keyboards Marcus Doubleday – trumpet Peter Strazza – tenor saxophone Stemsy Hunter – alto saxophone
Additional personnel Richie Havens – percussion, sitar Sivuca – guitar, percussion Paul Beaver – keyboards, Moog synthesizer Leo Daruczek – strings Charles McCracken – strings Bobby Notkoff – strings Julius Held – strings Roy Segal – engineer Jim Marshall – cover photo Joe Church – percussion, producer John Court – percussion, vocals, producer Cass Elliot - vocal on "Groovin' Is Easy"
Charts YearChartPeak Position1968US Billboard Top LPs31
References